A Stellar Week
My column this week is a joy to write – good racing, good weather and good friends – all without controversy. Saratoga Race Course dodged both the Canadian wildfire smoke and a short torrential downpour to run its full racing cards with minimal disruption. The New York Racing Association wisely kept grass stakes races intact on Saturday while moving the other grass races to the main track.
In addition to Saratoga, there was meaningful racing in New Jersey and San Diego, and racing saw youthful crowds in all three locations.
Some observations:
Saratoga
– Saratoga saw three well-bred maidens win with each defeating talented runners who will not take long to find the Winner’s Circle themselves.
– Trainer Brad Cox unveiled a pair of impressive two-year-olds. His colt – The Good Life, (sired by freshman sire sensation – Life is Good) – went wire to wire defeating two Flightline colts, including the highly regarded Powerline. The latter got an education and ran well in defeat.
– Cox’s filly – Effusive – a daughter of the tremendous mare Monomoy Girl won at first asking with Key Colony Beach running gallantly but greenly to finish second.
– Not to be outdone, trainer Bill Mott sent out three-year-old Stimulate (by Tapit out of the stakes winning mare Elate) to score an impressive victory. With a long stride like his mother’s this colt figures to improve as the distances increase and seems bound for stakes company. Runner up Gadget Play will win shortly.
– Three-year-old filly Cy Fair proved she is the real deal, winning the Coronation Cup impressively. She is the definition of a “push-button” horse as she took her cue from her rider, Hall of Famer John Velasquez, and let him direct the best way to the wire. That sort of tractability will allow her to avoid trouble and help her win many races. (It doesn’t hurt that her stride is “smooth as Tennessee whiskey” either.)
– Dylan Davis found his rhythm winning three on the weekend, I spoke to him Sunday night and he is in good health and spirits. Look for him to pile up some generous priced winners the rest of the meet.
– Saratoga stalwart, James Bond, is rejuvenated and found the Winner’s Circle twice this week.
– Linda Rice and Jose Ortiz teamed to win with a well-bred first timer paying $28.40 – go figure.
– Trainer Carlos Martin has a lifetime in the money percentage of more than 40% and is sending out live horses. Katie Davis rides live horses too. They teamed up Sunday to score at 23-1 with Big Brooklyn (Fuhgeddaboudit”). Congrats.
– Trainer George Weaver continues to be red hot winning a host of races, including the aforementioned, Coronation Cup.
Maggie Seidman
One especially gratifying winner was homebred Solo Jim winning for owner/breeder Maggie Seidman Saturday afternoon. Mrs. Seidman has been an owner/breeder for nearly twenty years, showing devotion to her horses before, during and after their racing days. She has shown an almost lifelong devotion to Saratoga Springs, Skidmore, horses and racing. Many of her horses are named after her late husband, Steve or her father Jim. Mrs. Seidman generously shares her thoughts, opinions (and pictures) of her horses on social media and is the best face the racing game could have. Congratulations.
Jose Ortiz
Jose Ortiz continues to put together an Eclipse Award year. One insider told me that when Ortiz rides you “don’t only get a good ride you get a full analysis of the horse”. Much like a player in a team sport who teammates consider an on-field coach, Jose Ortiz’s insights about each horse are an added bonus for those who ride him.
Journalism
On the West Coast, Preakness winner Journalism overcame a horrendous start to wear down an overmatched field for a much-needed win at Del Mar. Teamed again with Umberto Rispoli, neither horse nor rider panicked after the bad beginning both showing patience and grit to the relief of favorite bettors. His connections should be commended for putting him in the right spot. I hope there is another Grade One win in his future. Rispoli told me “Horse ran great considering the start. He feels great during his works and felt great during the race. He was the best horse in the race and it was a race he had to win. Very happy to get back on him, I miss that. Made the first step now we move forward to the next step.”
Haskell
Many of the stars of the three-year-old crop convened in New Jersey for the running of the Haskell and the result was puzzling to say the least. Only Napoleon Solo ran his race and that was not enough for victory as longshot Baby Vino continued the “year of the female trainer” by out gaming the Preakness winner. Congratulations to Trainer Lindsay Schultz and Jockey Jorge Vargas, Jr.
An observation by the astute and highly respected Tony Cobitz, (known to most as “Tinky” (@Tinky47flat on X/twitter)) that “The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Haskell were all won by horses that recorded Beyer figures of less than 90 in their previous starts” leads him to conclude this is a weak three-year-old crop. That is a thought to keep in mind for the Travers Stakes and later when these horses face older runners.